Self-Serving Scott’s Week in Review: Dishonesty, Dropping the Ball, Fighting Disclosure and Draining Schools

Each week brings so many examples of Rick Scott putting his own self-serving politics over hardworking Floridians that it can be tough to keep up. That’s why the Florida Democratic Party is launching a new weekly feature – Self-Serving Scott’s Week In Review — highlighting some of the top developments showing how Scott is pushing his own agenda at the expense of hardworking Floridians. See for yourself:

AP HEADLINE: SCOTT “SIGNS NEW BUDGET THAT CRITICS SAY HURT SCHOOLS;” SUPERINTENDENTS SPEAK OUT AGAINST HIM. Rick Scott continued his more than seven-year assault on public schools — even as superintendents, sheriffs and editorials spoke out against him. His budget includes a meager 47-cent increase per student that will not cover the rising cost of education or fund the safety requirements Scott has boasted about passing. The Tampa Bay Times called it “unconscionable,” school leaders in Duval said Scott “will cut money for education” and the Superintendent in Miami-Dade said it was “historically disappointing.” 

RICK SCOTT GETS A “STINGING” “REPUBLICAN REBUKE” ON PARKLAND, HIS AGENCY “DROPPED THE BALL.” U.S. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, “in a rare Republican rebuke,” criticized Rick Scott and his child welfare agency for dropping the ball leading up to the Parkland tragedy. Grassley also chastised Scott’s Department of Children and Families Secretary for not appearing before the committee.

PALM BEACH COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR ANNE GANNON CALLS SCOTT OUT FOR MISLEADING FLORIDIANS ABOUT HIS RECORD ON TAXES. Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon called Scott out for misleading Floridians after he supported increasing property taxes by more than $450 million in one year alone.

From The News Service of Florida: “‘Instead of being honest about how he’s tried to make working families pay more, Scott is doing what he always does — trying to tell a dishonest story that makes himself look good and advances his own political interests,’ Gannon said.” 

From The Palm Beach Post: “Scott and the Florida Senate initially proposed leaving the tax rate the same, which would have saddled homeowners with higher tax bills because of rising real estate values.”

ABOUT THAT BAN ON OFF-SHORE DRILLING SCOTT SAID HE GOT… Scott has a long history of backing drilling off Florida’s shores and beaches – now his friends in the Trump Administration are walking away from the drilling ban Scott claimed he got. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, even after meeting with Scott and declaring Florida would be exempt, said this week “Florida did not get an exemption.”

RICK SCOTT STILL FIGHTING TO HIDE HIS FINANCES. For reasons most voters can figure out, Scott is fighting in court to hide his finances and how he may have used his position as governor to enrich himself through his secret financial account, his so called ‘blind trust.’ Scott’s legal team is appealing a judge’s ruling that denied Scott’s motion to dismiss a case against him, which contends he is not following the state’s financial disclosure laws. Scott’s wealth has grown by millions as governor and his secret financial account is invested in companies that have done business with the state – he’s a “walking conflict of interest.”

From News4Jax: “Governor Scott has failed to fully disclose his financial interests by not disclosing the underlying assets in revocable trusts and various partnerships,” the lawsuit said. “Governor Scott also attempts to include in a ‘blind’ trust assets that do not qualify and to which he is not ‘blind.’”